http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/ Infertility and Adoption online interactive support community for your family-building efforts. Information and discussion includes infertility, adoption, pregnancy, parenting and surrogacy issues. en Thu, 23 May 2013 17:49:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/ http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/74014-problems-daphnes-school.html Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:46:17 GMT Yes, I know. Again :rolleyes:

I know I've discussed the curriculum, but I can't remember if I've discussed everything here.

I love Daphne's regular teacher. She's really nice and it's not really her fault that the 3rd grade curriculum at this school totally sucks. But Mrs S is on maternity leave right now, so Daphne has a substitute. From the beginning of January to the end of March, we are stuck with Ms. G.

A few weeks ago, when I picked Daphne up from school, she got into the car and started crying. She cried all the way home, and then some. It took her awhile before she could finally calm down enough to tell me what the problem was. I guess Ms. G had started a conversation in the class about Global Warming, and the class discussed it at length. They discussed dead and dying polar bears. They brought up the movie 2012 and some kids in the class said that, in the movie, the end of the world is brought about by global warming. (We haven't seen it yet, so we don't know.) At one point, someone pointed out what a beautiful day it was outside, and even attributed that to global warming.

During this time, they also discussed the earthquake in Haiti. They talked about the thousands who had died, thousands more who had crushed limbs that had to be amputated, etc. Basically, all the worst things that those poor people are going through.

So between these 2 things, Daphne was understandably upset. I was VERY upset. Not only do we not believe in global warming, but even if we did, who would want their 9 year old hearing all that in school? Or anywhere, for that matter? I waited until very late before writing an email. I sent it to the principal, the sub, and the regular teacher.

I hadn't received a response by the late afternoon, so I went in to get Daphne a little early, so I could speak with the principal. She was very apologetic, and assured me that the sub was working on a response. The incident happened on Wednesday, and I spoke with the principal Thursday afternoon. Friday came and went, as did the weekend. By midday on Monday, I was perterbed again that Ms. G hadn't bothered to respond to me, at all.

This time I called the principal. She said that she had wanted to look over the letter before Ms. G sent it, and she had seen it Friday morning, so she didn't know what the hold up was. Within an hour or so, I received 2 emails from Ms. G. The first, being a very lame excuse-ridden note about the situation. She said that she didn't hear these things, and would have stopped them if she did. She assured me that this discussion must have occurred out on the playground, out of her earshot. (So basically she is calling Daphne a liar here. Daphne never lies, and she said it occurred during class) The second email was a little note, saying, "Gosh, I sent this on Thursday. I'm not sure why it didn't go through. Sorry you thought I was ignoring you."

Um, the prinicipal said she saw it on Friday morning, so here Ms. G was lying again.

With the curriculum, it's bad enough that it doesn't drill multiplication. It just taught the concept and moved on. So when the regular teacher, Mrs. S, heard that more than half the class was not yet finished with their math timings, they couldn't figure out why. (and my dd's class isn't the only one this way. I've spoken with parents of other 3rd grade students in other classes at this school). So they moved up the date of when these needed to be done by. They have promised an ice cream party at the end of their math timings session. If you finish them all within the allotted time, you can have your choice of whatever's there. If not, you better hope you finish enough of them to earn some ice cream. So Daphne is stressing about this, and I'm sure she's not the only one.

Ms. G doesn't seem to know what to do to fix this. They have now pulled flashcards out twice in class. (These are cards Mrs. S wanted us to supply for our kids, before she went on leave) Daphne has told me that Ms. G has also instituted a new rule - if you get close to finishing, but still have a few problems left unfilled, (up to 4 problems) you can still pass. So she has basically lowered the bar for these kids. Also, they don't work on multiplication problems in the classroom. The homework has always been very easy for Daphne, and usually was centered around spelling words. She has never been sent a worksheet with many math problems on it, and they never do those in the classroom, either. And yet....a couple weeks ago, they had a lot of math problems. There was one sheet of 64 single digit multiplication problems, one sheet of 64 double digit multiplication problems (which they had not learned or discussed in the classroom), and one page of 100 division problems! Daphne was near tears! (Especially considering her teacher had given her the wrong homework, so she didn't receive it until Wednesday).

Last week, Ms. G showed the class a movie, Stuart Little. Now, this is a PG movie, and it is our school district's policy that a parent must sign permission before a PG movie can be shown. Ms. G "didn't realize" that this was a PG movie. She told the principal after the fact, but we, the parents, were never notified. Seems like a simple mistake, right? Do you know the storyline of the movie? It's about a mouse, who gets adopted by a human family. Towards the end of the movie, the mouse's "real" parents come back to claim him. Even though they are strangers, the mouse has to go with his "real" parents.

Now, as a mom of 3 kids who joined our family through the miracle of adoption, I have BIG problem with this movie! It probably would have been okay, if they had asked ahead of time. It likely would have been okay if they had notified us after. But the only reason I know is because Daphne told me. I have resisted complaining, because I've already been that route, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to bring it up. One or two mistakes can easily be overlooked and forgiven, but they keep stacking up. (And this dingbat substitute teacher makes me want to rip my arm off and start beating people with it! :mad: )

Fast forward to today. At 2:40 today, the school automated machine called. (It gives school-wide announcements) It said, "There has been a non-school incident in the parking lot. If you are picking your child up from school, please pick them up in the bus parking lot. Be sure to arrive after 3:30."

That was all it said. It didn't say what had happened. Daphne's school lets out at 3:25. So I arrive late, as it states, and pick her up in the bus parking lot. As I pass our regular parking lot, it is blocked off at both entrances, with cones, and a man in a vest at each entrance. There are 2 police cars in the parking lot. And there is a temporary awning, covering something in the parking lot.

When I ask Daphne what was going on, she had no idea. She also said that afternoon recess was an inside recess, but they weren't told why. Now, it was a beautiful day today, and this is the school that sent my baby outside in 18 degree weather, and also in the rain. No. matter. what. So if they are kept inside for recess on a beautiful day, that is a "lock-down" situation. Wouldn't you agree?

There were a lot of adults outside with the kids when I picked up Daphne. I had a car full of kids and I didn't want to try to get answers out in the parking lot, with all my kids waiting on me. (I had my sister's 2, as well.) I've looked through Daphne's backpack, and there is no announcement of what, exactly, happened.

I spoke with my BIL, a police officer, who works in a middle school, and he raised his eyebrows. He says there is no way there should be that heavy a presence there and the parents not to be notified.

I am going to be walking Daphne into the school tomorrow, and if they can't tell me what was going on, I don't feel like I can leave her there. I mean, if she were at a friend's house, and the mom called up and said, "Can you pick her up in the alley today? There's something going on out front." And then, when I got there, there were police cars, the yard was taped off, and there was a big awning in the yard, blocking my view, do you really think I would bring my child back the next day? I mean, given that no explanation was given, that is huge to me. If it were a car fire or something, why hide it? Why not mention the words "lock-down" in the phone message, since that's exactly what it was?

*sigh* Thanks for listening. I've been trying to be nice, but I think the time for being nice is over. All of this is completely unacceptable to me. ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/74014-problems-daphnes-school.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/71336-never-ending-allergies.html Thu, 20 Aug 2009 07:33:39 GMT Dh and I have been feeling that maybe Jeran's allergies had changed, lately. He had never been allergic to watermelon before, but this summer, he had a horribly itchy mouth and lips after eating watermelon. Obviously this has changed.

I decided to give Jeran chicken nuggets that had wheat, corn, and milk in them. (I know, stupid. I couldn't even choose something that had just one thing) I even gave them to him 2 nights in a row. Well, he is obviously still reacting, behaviorally, to all this. He had gotten into pizza one day, without permission, and while I was busy with the baby. He didn't have the icky poos, so I thought maybe some of his allergies are being outgrown. They are definitely NOT.

Jeran has sensory processing disorder, and he is just always ON. I can't help but feel there is SOMETHING that we are missing. I have no idea what it is, though. And between my inablility to find/make a wide variety of allergy free things, and his extreme pickiness, it is just hard to feed my poor son. Even if I make stuff, it's still expensive, he doesn't like it, and it spoils quickly.

I don't know if I need to get extreme on limiting corn, or if I should look at soy. I intend to take him to the allergist soon, and although the Dr did just RAST last time, I think I'm going to have to seriously look at SPT, too.

After having his worst allergies ever this spring, when the worst was over, his allergic rhinits is suddenly gone. For the most part, anyway. I noticed one day that he was "sucking snot" anymore. And yet, we went to the Woodland Park Zoo a few weeks ago. As we left, and got onto the freeway, all of a sudden, Jeran was VERY snotty, with tons of sneezes and everything. He was "sucking snot" for a good 15 minutes. Then he was better again.

Between his allergies, his pickiness with food, and his SPD, I just want to :banghead::banghead::banghead: I want to help him. I don't expect him to be perfect. But there is SOMETHING there. I just DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS!!

His OT today suggested we might consider getting a service dog for him, to help him with his SPD. They are VERY expensive, though, and I know we'd never be able to afford it. If I can just figure out what that SOMETHING is, I'm sure he'd be able to work himself out of it. In large part, anyway.

I am glad I"m homeschooling him. He would drive his teachers, and classmates, nuts, and that isn't what he wants.

Last week, I was making pasta for dinner. I put the water on to boil, then went to get the baby out of nap. I had to change him, too. When I came back down, Jeran was holding his finger, but I had no idea something was wrong. After several minutes, he finally told me that he had touched the red-hot burner on the stove. It took him that long to tell me because he was afraid that he would be in trouble, or that I would tease him about it. :(

I am praying and praying. Please, God, lead me to figure this out! ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/71336-never-ending-allergies.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/70458-must-great-perfect.html Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:24:38 GMT Daphne went to a birthday party for one of her gymnastics teammates this weekend. She doesn't know any of these girls outside of gymnastics, but she wanted to go, as they are friends during class. It was a slumber party, but I didn't feel that I knew the family well enough to just let her stay the night. There aren't many places I would let any of my kids stay the night, I'm just kinda picky that way, I guess. So, Daphne just stayed until 9:30.

when I went to pick her up, the girls were all in the tent in the backyard. As soon as Daphne heard me, she flipped out, and came running up the deck stairs to me, crying. I guess she didn't have that great of a time. There were a lot of girls she didn't know, and they did makeup, and she didn't really want anything on her face. she stubbed her toe bad enough to need a bandaid, but she was taken aback when no one helped her put it on or anything. She fell off the trampoline because there was no surrounding net, and at the end, in the tent, she said everyone had someone to talk to but her.

Now, Daphne's somewhat sensitive, so I'm sure it wasn't as horrible as she made it sound. But if she was bothered, she was bothered. There is nothing wrong with her feelings.

The mom at the party didn't seem to know what to do with such an emotional display. Fine by me. glad I came to pick her up.

At gymnastics today, the mom asked if Daphne had been okay. I told her Daphne was fine, but mentioned that she had been tired, and that she didn't know everyone. I happened to mention that Daphne had fallen off the trampoline, and this mom was absolutely insistent that no one had fallen off the trampoline. "We watched everyone very carefully, and she did NOT fall off the trampoline!"

Uh, so the mom's calling my daughter a liar then? I had to bite my tongue not to say that. she also said, after we had left the party, that she and her dh thought Daphne had been so emotional at pickup, as a sort of display for me. That really bugged me, too.

But near the end of gymnastics tonight, was the real kicker. I was talking about Jeran, and what a handful he has always been. I mentioned how, when he was 2.5, I had him walking around with us while school supply shopping. When he was getting too rowdy, I told him, "Back into the cart." and he ran off. They found him within 60 seconds out in the Target parking lot.

Well, this mom actually had the audacity to say to me, "That's why I never let my kids out of the cart when they were that age. They can scream all they want, I would never let them out, for just that reason." :fuming:

Well, excuse me, miss perfect parent!! :argue: It just galls me to no end how parents with easy, compliant children (and this one even has all girls, of course!) think that their kids are that way because of their perfect parenting skills!! :angry: Sorry, honey, you just have good genes! Get on your knees, thank the good Lord, and butt your ignorant, condescending little tushie out of my biz-ness!

HHMMPPHH!!!! ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/70458-must-great-perfect.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/70423-jeran-fearless.html Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:58:00 GMT I posted this on another board. It's late, and I'm too tired to be original. LOL Tjhis is about Jeran.




My middle child is 5.5 year old ds, and he has a sensory processing disorder. he is a seeker, he has very poor impulse control, social boundaries are a bit of a blur to him, and he has no fear. (Are you scared yet?)

He has been "worse" than usual lately. Earlier in the week, he went out front to play, with my permission, with the neighbor. (we live on a quiet cul-de-sac) He knows the rules, but despite that, when the neighbor wasn't home, he took it upon himself to go to the skate park, by himself, without permission. This is 3 blocks away, and he had to cross the busiest street in our little town. I went out to check on him, within 15 minutes of him going out front, and he wasn't there. He came right back, though, as he ran up to me as I was going back into the house, to prepare to search.

As you can imagine, he was not allowed outside without an adult after this. On Friday, he went upstairs to the tv room by himself. This is allowed, and I allow him to watch Disney channel up there. I went to check on him within a few minutes, as I heard him in the bathroom. My "mommy sense" was tingling. He seemed fine. However, the doorbell rang. It was a grown up neighbor, telling me that she saw my son bust out the screen upstairs, and climb out onto the roof!! He climbed all the way near the gutter she said, and then went back inside. (Thank GOD she told me this!!)

My son was crying when I came back, because he knew he was caught. He told me that he was retrieving an action figure from the gutter.

Now, my son is in occupational therapy, once every other week. At our last visit, the OT started in on trying to tell me how to discipline my son. her suggestion was a timeout, and that he shouldn't have it in his room. Now, I know I am PMSing, but after stewing all day, I finally figured out why her suggestions made me so upset. Not only do I feel it to be insulting for her to tell me to put my child in timeout (like I'm some idiot who doesn't have basic parenting skills). but I also feel the most important part of taking him to OT in the first place is for her to help with a "sensory diet" type thing, and help us with a schedule of suggestions for him. (It doesn't help that the OT is younger than me, and I don't believe she has children yet. She is nice, though)

I am "getting it" at all angles, too. My mom, when we decided to homeschool Jeran, said "If you can't handle him now, how are you going to handle him all day for school?" gee, thanks mom. I can handle him just fine. I just need to get a good handle on a realistic, yet full, schedule for him. ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/70423-jeran-fearless.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/70404-tired-annoyed.html Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:10:49 GMT and somewhat PMSing, too.

Jeran had his OT again today. He goes every other Wednesday for his Sensory Processing Disorder. I haven't really learned anything from his OT sessions. I think it's kinda hard for the OT to get a good feel for Jeran and his issues, since we only go every other week. What I've been hoping to get out of OT is some ways to help Jeran learn to cope with his SPD. His biggest issue, by far, is his poor impulse control.

So today, I was telling his OT about the past 2 weeks. Things have calmed down a bit for Jeran with his allergies, so he's starting to be more "regular Jeran" rather than "complete body overload Jeran" so that's good. Last session, 2 weeks ago, his eyes were puffy and he was having random tanturms, because of his allergies. His eyeballs were swelling up at least every other day, but sometimes as often as twice per day, so he was pretty miserable.

Today's session, I was telling the OT about Jeran's impulsivity. Yesterday, he went out front to play after lunch. He knows the rules, so I didn't follow right after him. After 15 minutes, I went to check on him, as I grabbed some lunch for me out of the freezer. Jeran was nowhere in sight. I figured he was down the street at the neighbor's, and I was going to grab my lunch from the freezer, then go look for him. Suddenly, I hear him run up behind me, all out of breath.

Apparently, he had run down to the skate park that was 3 blocks away. This is across the busiest street in our little town, too. I didn't even believe him at first, but I do now.

Anyway, I told this to the OT, and about Jeran hitting, etc, his siblings, just to get a reaction or get attention.

So, the OT said she had a program to try with Jeran, and that we'd read the book together at the end of his session. Basically, it tells the child that they have 2 choices. The A choice, which is the good choice, or the B choice, which is the bad choice. With minimal discussion with me, she told him that a B choice would be a timeout and an A choice would be 10 minutes on his xBox. This was after I had told her that we only allow the xBox on the weekend.

As I left, I realized, I wasn't happy with any of this. In fact, I felt overwhelmed and rather upset. It's taken me most of the day to figure it out. First, I realized that the xBox is a terrible choice for the positive behavior. We are trying to limit video games, and there is a reason we only allow the xBox on the weekends. When Jeran was in preschool, he would often get to play his xBox in the afternoons, after school. The baby was sleeping, and this kept him occupied and happy. After we pulled Jeran from preschool, I told him he could no longer play on school days. I didn't want him to play xBox all day eveyr day. There is no reason to play it, except on the weekends. It shouldn't be an every day thing. He has his DS he gets to play all the time. He doesn't need to play the xBox all the time.

Then I realized I had an even bigger problem with the "timeout" the OT recommended. See, the OT told me that Jeran's time out should not be in his room, because he has toys. So he should have a designated timeout spot. A timeout is the most BASIC of parenting skills. Why am I being told to do this? Like, I"m so stupid that I've NEVER even tried it?

Okay, more on this post later.... ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/70404-tired-annoyed.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/69974-more-testing-enough-already.html Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:57:44 GMT Jeran's big IEP meeting was last Friday. Everyone was nice, but it went about as well as I expecting. The school district doesn't recognize Sensory Processing Disorder, so no assistance for that will be given.

They let me talk for the first few minutes, and then chimed in. Mostly they just kept saying that they needed to do more testing. They didn't accept the OT evaluation from the hospital OT, and need to test Jeran themselves. They never asked me for a list of what accomodations I was seeking for Jeran. Jeran also has many allergies, and this was addressed as well.I honestly think that the allergies was a big reason why this meeting was made such a big deal. If he didn't have those, I doubt they would have been as communicative as they were.

They want to have the school OT evalate him, which is fine. Then they want "that" school psychologist to give the same "behavioral questionaire" that they had me fill out last year. This is the one that they gave me the results saying he's 3 ponits away from ADHD and that I should take him to the pediatrician.

So they want that test again. And THEN they want him evaluated for autism. But Jeran is NOT autistic, and it's making me angry that they are that desperate to get an "approved label" on him, that they will just try to throw the autism label on him.

Now, if he really WERE autistic, of course we would love him exactly the same, and do everything we could to help him work with that. But we KNOW he's not autistic. I have a feeling the school will do everything they can to get that label on him, since it's an "approved" label. That way, they can justify helping him in the classroom.

I don't think it's fair to Jeran to "mis"label him like that! That label would be in his school records forever. Plus, what about kids that really ARE autistic? Would they then be held up to my son as a standard? "THAT kid's autistic, and he doesn't have problems with this. If that autistic kid can, ALL autistic kids can." Is that what will happen? It's totally not fair.

The tests are supposed to be next week. Dh and I were talking. I am ready to just say "forget it". Dh agrees that Jeran will likely just be home with me next year, but he thinks we should go ahead with the testing. He just doesn't want to close any doors. I'm simply afraid that by doing the testing, and being "mis"labeled, that the wrong info will close doors for Jeran.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I'd love some advice.

There are many reasons we worry about Jeran going to Kindergarten in the fall. The biggest is his inabililty to sit still, be quiet, and keep his hands to himself. He really tries, but he just can't do it yet. There are other reasons, though, too. His allergies are another reason. Plus, he will not have a BM until his has some pretty thick, stinky skid marks in his skivvies. And you have to call him on it, when you smell it, too, he won't just get up then and go.

After his preschool experience, I really am not anxious to send him to any school, anywhere. ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/69974-more-testing-enough-already.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/69692-let-iep-battles-begin.html Sun, 24 May 2009 07:32:56 GMT *gulp* On Friday, when I took Jeran in for speech, they gave me the invite list, that shows everyone that is scheduled to be at the new IEP meeting I got. Instead of four people, like last time, there are EIGHT people, besides me, listed as attending. Last year, the LEA rep was the principal,... *gulp*

On Friday, when I took Jeran in for speech, they gave me the invite list, that shows everyone that is scheduled to be at the new IEP meeting I got. Instead of four people, like last time, there are EIGHT people, besides me, listed as attending. Last year, the LEA rep was the principal, and she was listed on the invite for the previous meeting, too. I'm not sure exactly what LEA stands for, but my impression is it's someone who oversees all the programs, instead of just speech, just OT, etc. On this loaded invite, the LEA rep isn't the principal. It's someone from the district offices!!

This leads me to be paranoid, and thing that they are taking me as a serious enough "threat" that they are "pulling out the big guns". I have spoken with a few family members about my IEP battles, and they are taking it as a good sign that district reps will be there. Of course, these family members have never in their lives dealt with an IEP in any form, so they don't really have a clue. Am I wrong in my assessment, that they are trying to intimidate me and make me go away?

I am torn. I don't really want Jeran to go there, anyway, because I doubt they will meet his needs. He has a fragile self-esteem, especially after preschool, and I don't want to set him up to fail. So I WANT to homeschool him.

Now, I don't know if I should A) bring a bunch of people to support me to the meeting, too, so the school district can see that they can't intimidate me, or B) Just go by myself, do the best I can, and accept what happens.

For either option, I think I will be bringing a tape recorder. I will set it right in the middle of the table and turn it on, so the school district will know that their every word is about to be immortalized.

The meeting is this coming Friday, 5/29. ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/69692-let-iep-battles-begin.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/69504-iep-issues.html Mon, 18 May 2009 06:55:13 GMT Anyway, I have been trying to get Jeran's IEP hammered out for school, for kindergarten. You probably remember that I plan to homeschool him. But, he is already in the school system, because he's been taking speech there. I decided that I should at least TRY to give the school a chance, and see if they could meet the needs of Jeran. After all, if they step up and take his issues seriously, is it really fair to Jeran to just "skip it"?

It has not gone well so far. His original IEP meeting was scheduled for last Monday. Now, when I picked up his registration packet, in March, for Kindergarten, I approached the principal about his SPD. She didn't have time at that moment to talk, with all the people there, so she recommended I call to talk to Marcy, the school psychologist. I called the next day and left a message for Marcy, explaining I was calling at the request of the principal. She never called me back.

When I turned the registration packet in, I included 2 pages that throughly discussed his allergies, and 2 more pages that discussed his preschool experience, and why we withdrew him in February. THEN, the week before the IEP meeting, I brought in the OT evaluation, done by his OT at the hospital.

A week or so before the IEP, his speech teacher gave me the written invitation for the meeting, and scheduled to be there were his speech teacher, a general eduaction teacher (who always comes, to kinda entertain the kids), the principal, and another specialist, who was listed, but not named.

So, last Monday I showed up, and the only school people who showed up were the speech teacher and the general education teacher. NO ONE HAD LOOKED AT ANYTHING I HAD GIVEN THEM!!! Now, this wasn't the speech teacher's fault, but I was beyond mad!! We took the few minutes to go through the speech stuff, and I told her how I had never heard back from the school psychologist and how I had many things I needed added for Jeran's IEP for kindergarten.

The speech teacher went and grabbed Jeran's registration file. She didn't have a copy of the OT report (because she gave it to the right person, who wasn't at the meeting) but I had brought my original copy of the OT report. She also grabbed a school OT, to listen in on part of the meeting. I still dont know the woman's name.

They quickly read the stuff, and said they would see to it the right people saw it. The speech teacher gave me her IEP to sign, and, since it was accurate, for speech, I signed it.

The next day, I got a call from the school psychologist. She gave some lame-ass excuse as to how an intern had probably got my message and not relayed it. She listened a little to me, and then said how the few things I had suggested sounded totally doable. But, she said, rather than putting it in the IEP, the school would rather wait, see how he does in the first weeks of school, and THEN consider putting stuff into place. This did not sit well with me at all, and I told her so. I also told her one of the things that I INSIST on having written into his IEP was that Jeran should NEVER have his recess taken away. She paused, and I could tell that wasn't going to fly, but too bad! I also told her that I felt we should put things in place ahead of time for Jeran, rather than run around, putting fires out after the fact.

I was actually at the Space Needle with my kids when she called, and I told her we would continue this conversation the next day. When I called her the next afternoon, she read to me some things that she said were in the IEP. They were not in the IEP I had seen, and I told her that I needed to meet with everyone, so we could discuss things face to face.
She was also saying they would observe Jeran in his speech class. I told her that Jeran in a one on one environment is MUCH different then Jeran in a class full of people. Then, get this, she said, "Oh, well we have preschool classes. We can put him in one of those and observe him in there."

I COULD NOT BELIEVE SHE EVEN SUGGESTED THAT!

On Friday, I got a copy of an IEP for Jeran in the mail. It had all the same speech stuff in it, plus, the school psycho had added a few things in it. Without further discussion, without observation, and without calling his previous preschool, like I had suggested. The things she added listed some of his SPD issues, without saying SPD, and then went on to say Jeran has anger issues and is argumentative. Can you believe that? He is sooo NOT!

THEN, she added a paragraph about how last year, Jeran was "tested" for ADHD, and that he is showing symptoms of ADHD, and that they need to be on the lookout for that! So, she FINALLY pulled out her file on Jeran, did a negligeable amount of research on him, and added all the wrong things!

To complete the picture of horror, she marked the IEP as a final draft. AND SHE ADDED MY SIGNATURE FROM THE SPEECH IEP ON THE END, LIKE I HAD APPROVED HER CHANGES!!!

Can you tell that I am really, really mad now?

On Saturday, I printed off a simple letter, stating that I am requesting some changes to my son's IEP. Then, I sent it certified mail, to the principal of the school (who you will remember didn't bother to show up) and the superintendent of our school district.

Do you think that will get thier attention? ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/69504-iep-issues.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/2005-so-glad-we-done-preschool.html Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:02:49 GMT I was working with Jeran this afternoon, on a worksheet. "count and color the bats". He was a little messy, and I encouraged him to stay within the lines, as I know the ability to color within the lines is helpful with writing letters later. He said that if he didn't, I would "play basketball" with his paper. I asked him what he meant. He said that at preschool, if you didn't stay within the lines, the teacher got to "play basketball" with your picture, and you had to color it again. :fuming:

I can't believe they would do that, but I know it's got to be true. That sounds like them. How awful, to throw a child's worksheet into the trash, in front of the whole class, and make them color the same sheet all over again! I asked Jeran if the teacher ever played basketball with his paper, and he said, no, but they did with one of his friends.

I'm so glad he doesn't go there anymore!!! ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/2005-so-glad-we-done-preschool.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/2688-preschool-issues.html Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:31:58 GMT Alright, I know I posted recently about some of Jeran's issues at preschool. I've been thinking, and remembering all the little things, and it's really just starting to piss me off. (sorry for being vulgar). Please forgive me for repeating some of my previous post.

Daphne went to the preschool Jeran is at now. She did wonderful there. The teachers told me, the first week, "I wish every child was as well-behaved as Daphne." She totally thrived there.

Well, Jeran is NOT Daphne. And I've always known that. But, it shouldn't be a problem at preschool. After all, they've been in business for 40 years. I've thought that maybe I was just imagining that all the teachers prefer little girls to little boys. But my SIL currently has her 3 child enrolled there, and her 2nd boy. She feels the same as I, so I know I must not be imagining it.

This is Jeran's 2nd year at this school. There are 2 rooms in the school, and classes are for 2 hours. They spend the first hour in the first room, where we drop them off, and the second hour in the second room, where we pick them up. For drop off and pick up, everyone waits in line in their car, in the driveway. We each pull up to the door, and drop off/pick up, then drive off for the next person's turn. There are several teachers in each room, and generally they stick to one room. So, Jeran's teachers in his first half of class are different from his teachers in his second half of class. (are you with me so far?)

Last year, I started to feel that the teacher who lets the kids out at the end of class really doesn't like my son. She always seemed grumpy, and never volunteered anything. I began to feel that maybe this school isn't a good match for Jeran. But, Daphne did so well there, and the owner/founder/director is the sweetest little old lady, so I continued. Case in point, though, is that on the last day of school last year, the teacher opened up the door for Jeran, let him out, then shut the door. She didn't make eye contact. She didn't smile. And, even though she wouldn't see Jeran for the whole summer, she didn't say a word. Not even, "have a nice summer!" I was left with the impression that she hates my child, and was thrilled that she wouldn't have to deal with him for 3 whole months.

Over the summer, Jeran was found to have a TON of food allergies. We already knew about many of his environmental allergies, but were shocked to see there were so many food allergies. So, by the time preschool started up again, we had to do something different for snack time. They always have a little snack, like a cup of goldfish crackers, and Jeran was allergic to everything they offered. At first, I didn't have many things I could leave there for him, so he just had a big bag of cinnamon ceral that I made.

As I found more things he could eat, I tried leaving more things for him. For example, I had made some homemade cookies he could have. I felt these would be great for him to have if a classmate brought a treat for their birthday. But, they don't keep long. When I brought them with a refill for his snack bag, I asked for the cookies to be placed in the freezer so they would keep. As I went back to my car, I saw the teacher put the cookies in his snack back. I knew she wasn't likely to bother putting them into the freezer, and they would probably be wasted.

More time went on, and I found some safe pretzels, and some safe prepackaged cookies that had just 2 in a pack. They lasted weeks, rather than a couple of days, so they were perfect to keep on hand at preschool for treat days.

I brought those right after Christmas break, the pretzels, the cookies, 2 different kinds of cereal, and a few safe lollipops. He was now well stocked with a variety of snacks at school. That first day, they gave him some of his pretzels. Later that day, Jeran told me that everyone else wanted his pretzels, too, instead of their goldfish crackers. They didn't get them, of course. But, I find it suspicious that Jeran hasn't had any of his pretzels since. The week before last, Jeran told me that someone had brought cookies to school. I smiled, remembering he had cookies in his snack bag, and asked him, "And what did you have for snack?" Imagine my sadness when he replied, "Just my cereal." I guess my child is the only child in the school who is not allowed to feel the least bit special.

Sometime before the break, Jeran was bugged by something at school. He came to me and told me that another boy at school, in the middle of class, said, "Superman's poopy!" Of course this isn't appropriate. The teachers didn't know who said it. So guess who got in trouble for it? That's right. They blamed Jeran, and he got in trouble for it. When I first heard this story, I thought it was funny. It DOES sound like something Jeran would say. Jim and I laughed, and told Jeran if he didn't talk like that, he wouldn't have been blamed. But after finding out more and more little things, this story is now remarkably NOT funny!

The school's policy seems to be that if it happens at school, and they handle at school, the child should be able to leave it at school. They don't really share a lot, when you pick your child up at the door. So it's only after I've been asking over and over again that they are finally starting to share with me things that happen. Plus, they say they are "cracking down" on behavior, since Kindergarten will be here soon. They want to prepare the kids for Kindergarten.

Now, Jeran goes Monday-Wednesday, 10:30-12:30. On Monday, when I asked at the door about his behavior, I was told he was sent to the office. They shared that Jeran was fidgety and distracting and in his classmates' faces during circle time, so he had to sit in the chair. The chair is at the back of the class. This way, he's still participating, but he can be more easily seen by teachers, and it's harder to reach the other kids. I was told that after he was placed in the chair, he touched someone else, so he was sent to the office. When I later asked Jeran about this, he said he was trying to "pinky promise" with Isabelle. (Isabelle is a very quiet, shy, sweet, tiny little girl in Jeran's class. He is fascinated by her, and often tries to tell me she's only 2 years old.) This actually sounds really sweet to me. And when I asked Jeran why he was placed in the chair, he said it was because he couldn't sit still.

Then, on Wednesday of the same week, he was sent to the office again. This time, when I went to pick him up in the second room, the teacher from the first room came out to talk to me. I knew we were in trouble then. This teacher is the director's daughter, has been there for years, and is basically the second in charge. She told me that Jeran was sent to the office for hitting someone in the head. That sounds serious, so of course they had to do something.

I asked Jeran about this later, and he said he had bopped his friend on the head. He said he didn't do it hard at all. I believe him, because he next said his friend didn't tell on him. Another boy saw, and spoke up to the teacher. NONE OF THE TEACHERS ACTUALLY SAW THIS OCCUR! So, based on the word of a boy who wasn't even involved, they sent my son to the office for the second time in three days. You know, I'm thinking this doesn't sound so serious anymore!

I should mention, if you are still with me, and didn't catch my last post, that Jeran has a sensory processing disorder. He basically is constantly seeking sensory input. He always has to touch everything and everyone. Most of the time, he cannot sit still. We actually have an evaluation this coming Friday, so we can get an official diagnosis. But we've been on the waiting list since November, and will probably have to wait a couple more months. (this is why I was asking for help with the school district in another post. Jeran just needs help right now!)

Gosh, I'm sorry this is so long. This has been weight heavily on me tonight. I am fighting the urge to just pull him immediately. But, I am hoping the school will write up something for the OT describing his behavior at school. How it is alienating the other kids and affecting everyone's ability to learn.

I forgot to add that Jeran often says things like "No one at school will play with me." And "nobody at school likes me." Last year, we invited 8 kids from his class to his birthday party. Only 3 showed up and no one called me. This year, we invited 10. Only 2 of the 3 from last year showed up, and no one else. At one point, he told me a kid in his class told him that he didn't want to go to Jeran's birthday party, so they didn't come. but a lot of times, he is so sweet. He tries to make excuses as to why no one came. In contrast, he has been to 1 child's birthday party from his school both years. She always has at least 8 kids there.

I'm sure there's more, but this is quite enough for now. Plus, I'm too tired to think. If you read all that, God Bless You! If I haven't completely numbed your brain, what do you think? Would you pull your child? If I pull him, he will likely be done with preschool, period. I feel bad, but his self-esteem is suffering.

Thanks again for listening! ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/2688-preschool-issues.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/2863-homeschool-possibilities.html Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:39:34 GMT I still don't know if we will do this homeschooling thing, but I'm really thinking it's best for Jeran. I'm trying to get dh on board. My mom keeps saying things like, "If you can't control Jeran now, how are you going to teach him anything?" Gee, thanks mom. My BIL was teasing me tonight, saying that Jeran won't have any friends. But he teases me about everything he can, and he knows I would never really let that happen.

I'm anxious to have Jeran do his sensory evaluation. I am really interested in hearing what the school says and does, when I bring the results to them. I think that will be really telling.

The boy next door has an auditory processing disorder. Basically, if there is a lot of noise in the room, like, say, a crowded classroom, he has a very hard time picking through the noise to hear one thing. Like his teacher's voice. This was determined with their pediatrician, and, I think, an occupational therapist. The solution, for now, was for the teacher to wear a little microphone necklace, and for the boy to wear a little speaker. This would allow the boy to hear his teacher's voice a little closer and louder than everything else, helping him to hear the teacher better. The teacher was happy to accomodate this consideration, and the parents willing to pay out of pocket for it. But, the principal/school would NOT allow this to be used in the classroom. The school required an evaluation by a very specialized Dr for this disorder. There is only one in our whole state. And, he doesn't normally screen kids for this until they are 7, as that's generally when it manifests. The boy didn't turn 7 until the summer! So he was expected to struggle through the whole remainder of the school year, with no assistance at all.

To further complicate things, there was a boy in his class who was bullying him. For the whole year, my neighbor boy's parents went back and forth with the school about this child, who was picking on their boy. It wasn't until 6 weeks before the end of the year, when the school finally listened to the parent's of the victim and moved the bully to a different class. Then, they repeatedly told the victim's mom how hard it was for the bully, being moved to a new class so close to the end of the year, and that the bully was having a really hard time. Like the victim's mom should care!

All of this happened in FIRST GRADE. Do you see why I am hesitant to send my child to this school? They will never understand him. They will completely kill his self-esteem.

This school is for kindergarten and first grade only. Then everyone goes to another school, for second through fifth grade. But the primary school is the only one in the district. So, if he goes to public school, it's there, or nothing.

Jeran is actually taking speech at this school. His speech teachers are really nice, and he loves going there. The neighbor boy's mom said the OT is really knowledgeable, and very nice, too. So, if I homeschooled Jeran, he would still go to the school long enough to receive these services. I feel confident in that the teachers of these special services would do well by Jeran.

My mom was asking if he could go to a private school. We can't really afford it, but even if we could, they don't have these services there, so it wouldn't be worth it, for Jeran.

I'm nervous. I am afraid it will take me forever to teach him to read. I'm afraid I'll forget something crucial, like math. I'm afraid Jeran will treat homeschooling as a free-for-all, and that I won't have enough structure for him. But I'm afraid most that the ignorant people in charge of the primary school will completely kill his self-esteem. He will alienate every potential friend with his sensory-seeking behaviors, and they will never forget it, all through the school years. Jeran just gets one chance to start his education. I'm afraid to let some idiot trying to stuff him into a box completely ruin it for him.

When we were setting up his IEP last spring, the school psychologist had me fill out a questionaire. She didn't have anyone else who knew Jeran fill it out, just me. And from that, she determined that Jeran is just 3 points away from ADD. And really? He's NOT. He has sensory issues, big time. He has major allergies that make it all worse. And it was completely unfair of this psychologist to try to stick a label on my son, just from a questionaire completed by one person. She tried to find which box my son fits into. Well, my son doesn't fit into boxes. He stands on them and jumps off! ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/2863-homeschool-possibilities.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/5338-email.html Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:54:47 GMT This is a copy of an email that I wrote for my SIL. I haven't sent it yet, and I'm not sure I'm going to. If it doesn't help anything, why bother? Better to just ignore her, and not make things worse.

Honestly, with the whole picture thing, and being mad at her, I kept thinking, "Well, at least now I don't have to deal with her." And the thought made me happy! (Isn't that sad? This is my SIL!) For the first Halloween in 11 years, my SIL and her family did not come over to my house. And I loved it!!!

I don't wish her ill at all. I guess I just think that she is rather toxic, and it's in my family's best interest to not have to deal with her. We have enough issues, without her adding to them!





Jodie,

I’m sorry, but the last line has been crossed. I have tried and tried to “be the better person” and as long as it’s just me that’s being slighted, that’s fine. You are Jim’s sister, and you could hurt me personally until the end of time, and I will do my best to let it go. But I must draw the line at my children being treated this way.

I love all of your girls to pieces, but they have a tendency to be bullies. Any time I have attempted to resolve an issue with you in the past, it was blown off by you and disregarded. Jalen’s first birthday party should have been the last line, but even then, I wanted to let it go. Because you are Jim’s sister.

At Jalen’s first birthday, Serena went through everything in Daphne’s room, without invitation or asking. Daphne didn’t know what to do, while her room was being ransacked. After going through every drawer, every chest, every box, every shelf, Serena went into the closet and helped herself to Daphne’s most prized dress up dress – the Ariel Wedding Dress we had brought back from Disneyland. Even though it was a size too small, Serena stuffed herself, fully clothed, into this special dress. When she ran by with it on downstairs, I was the one who had to chase her down and get it off her. The lace on one of the sleeves tore, because the dress was too small for her.

When I took the dress back to Daphne’s room, I thought her room was empty. I hung up the dress and heard a noise. It was Daphne. She was cowering, crying, hiding under her bed. Serena had terrorized Daphne in her own room. I didn’t even bother to tell you. No one cared that Serena ran by in clothes that weren’t hers, and I’ve been told to “mind my own business” too many times.

Then, to top it all off, you called Jalen a “Darkie”, right in front of Kevin. Kevin was shocked and offended, and more than a little hurt. Anyone else, he would have had it out with right there. But, you are Jim’s sister, so he chose to let it go.

It’s for reasons such as these, that your family hasn’t been asked back to our home. No one should feel terrorized in their own bedroom. That should have been the last line, but I figured, if we didn’t have your family over, everything would work out well enough.

I was wrong. I’m not sure what was most offensive. The fact that you disregarded my children. Or the fact that when I took YOUR IDEA and applied it to someone else’s family, suddenly, YOUR IDEA was rude and offensive. Granted, I certainly could have worded it better, but I am still very, very angry about the whole situation. Even when I take steps to shield my family, you still find ways to be hurtful towards them. We took our pictures on Saturday, and my big kids asked three times when Auntie Kim was going to get there. What was I supposed to say? We’re not good enough to be included, so we are a last minute after thought? Though it could have been worded better, what I said was true. Angie does have a lot less people in her family than anyone else, and Jacob was the only one with a conflict in the schedule that Kim set originally. If you find YOUR IDEA offensive when applied to Angie, maybe that will help you realize that YOUR IDEA was rude and offensive. No matter who it was applied to.

If you had bothered to listen, you would have found out that that night, at church school, they announced a Halloween potluck the following Wednesday night. This means a bunch of food that Jeran is allergic to. We didn’t go, and I sure would have loved a great reason to not go. But you didn’t want to wait, and didn’t want to listen. I also have several coupons for Penney’s Portraits, some of which don’t expire until February. So we didn’t need to rush, either. But you didn’t bother to ask, and you refused to listen.

I have been told too many times to “mind my own business” so I try to stick to just talking about my own family. Apparently, that means I’m complaining. That doesn’t leave me anything to talk about. So why bother trying anymore?

You should know that because of this, I chose to keep my family home for Thanksgiving. I have run out of options to protect them otherwise. I hope to send the kids with Jim for Christmas tree hunting. We’ll see how that works out. If I’m stuck coming, too, it will only be because I want Jim to be happy. And for Christmas, I’d love to keep us all home, too, but I love your mother too much.

I’m glad your family is great at forgiving. My family is, too, but we never really have a need to forgive. Because in my family, we don’t treat people this way. We don’t just talk, we listen. We try to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes before we act. I tried to remember the last time I had an issue with someone in my family. It was my cousin Molly. We were in fifth grade.

I wish I could put this behind me, but it has to end sometime. Every time I put something behind me, something else comes up. Maybe not immediately, but there is always something. After being married to your brother for 19 years, my faith and trust in you is gone. You used it up. My faith in your sincerity, and my trust that you will treat my children and their feelings decently.

For pictures, we ordered one sheet of 5 x 7’s. Do not send any back to us. Even though the picture is of the people I love most in the world, looking at it will remind me of this situation, and I don’t need reminding of it.

I feel sad that this turned out this way, and hope I don’t regret sending this email in the first place. It’s not my intention to hurt you with my words. (Lord knows I’m not perfect. And He reminds me often!) I just felt you deserve an honest explanation, whether it’s listed to or not.

Dawn ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/5338-email.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/6670-dhs-family-sucks.html Tue, 21 Oct 2008 06:36:22 GMT That's all there is to it.

My SIL (dh's brother's wife) came up with the idea to have pictures of all the grandkids together for dh's parents. It's for their wedding anniversary, which is December 26th. When this SIL, K, discussed it with me, we discussed how this coming weekend would be best. I told her I had things going on, but we'd work it out.

So, a week later or so, she calls me and tells me that she spoke with another SIL ( Dh's sister) and they scheduled the appt for Wednesday. This happens to be our busiest day. Not only that, but we have church school on Wednesday night, and both dh and I feel very strongly that our children attend every class they can. I don't feel that family pictures, that dont' need to be done for 2 months, is a good reason to miss class. I told her that we couldn't go that night, but we could go any other time. K said that another SIL's boyfriend is working all weekend, so Wednesday was the only time they could go. I told her again we couldn't go that day. Any other day we could suck it up and change our schedule around, but the kids can't miss CCD (church school).

A week or so after that, SIL J (Dh's sister) sends me an email trying to confirm the picture plans. We emailed back and forth, with m e confirming yet again that we can't go. She did everything she could to shoot down my reasons (ie: I'm sure Daphne will still get to do First Communion this year if she misses one class :rolleyes: Totally not the point!!)

Her last suggestion was for just my dh to come, and my family could take pictures another time. :fuming: I told her this wouldn't work, either. I told her that we could do it on the weekend, like originally planned, and that A (dh's other sister, with the boyfriend who has to work) could come back another time to take pictures with her boyfriend. That way, all the grandkids could get into the picture together, like K had planned for.

SIL J never responded. I waited, but I knew she was probably mad. I let it go, because "We can't go on Wednesday" was my final word, and what good would it do to say anything else?

Fast forward to this morning, when my dh says, "I talked to my brother this weekend, and he asked if I was going to be there on Wednesday, and I said 'yeah' ". :banghead: Gee, honey, thanks for the support! He left the house mad this morning, and obviously not understanding what was going on. (I had told him before. Why do men never listen?)

So I sent an email to SIL J, stating that I hadn't recieved any response from her, and reiterating that none of us would be there. I was mad that it seemed like the family was going behind my back to dh, and could have worded the email better.

She responded with a way harsh email. She said at family gatherings, all I ever do is complain how it's all inconvenient to me and she's tired of me expecting everyone to accomodate my family, when, according to her, I don't accomodate anyone else. She also stated that my suggestion that SIL A come another time with her boyfriend was heartless. (I guess because she doesn't have kids yet :confused: ) She thought my suggestion was for SIL A to not be in the pictures. I never suggested that at all. SIL A, I was told, was off that weekend, and it was simply the boyfriend that had to work. So, if SIL A could come on the weekend, she would be in the pictures, and we would be accomodating the boyfriend by having the two of them come back at a time convenient for both of them.

Essentially, I suggested the same thing she did, but involving someone else. Apparently, when it's suggested for us, it's accomodating. When it's suggested for anyone else, it's insulting. :confused: Everyone clear on that?

I tried very hard to word my last email to her as gently as possible. I really did not want anyone to think I had ever suggested that anyone not be in the picture. I prayed, and took my time, and prayed some more. And in the end, I think I still was too harsh. SIL J and her dh are Godparents to Jeran. I told her I knew she didn't care about my family, and that she only saw Jeran when family gatherings "require" it. I told her "I guess being a Godparent means something different to me." :banghead: It's true, that's exactly how I feel. But why did I say that? I was just so mad! :fuming:

There's more she said/ she said stuff, but for the most part, I'm pretty sure both of dh's sisters will never like me again. I'm sorry about his youngest sister, but I can't say I'm too upset about his other sister. She's a tactless idiot, and i can only take her and her family in small doses, anyway. I just feel bad for dh.

To try to make him feel better, I left a message saying that dh would be there, and he's bringing the baby. I really don't think my 2 year old should have to be dragged to the mall past his bedtime to accomodate this dingbat, but I want dh to feel better.

To make me feel better, I'm going to be evil. I'm sure that we will be too busy for Jalen to take a nap that day. And I feel the need to give him some candy right before dh comes home. I know, I know, I shouldn't be that way. But I really, really hope he throws a humungous, screaming "I-can-hear-that-child-all-the-way-from-the-freeway" tantrum.

Dh still doesn't understand, and wants to make it better. Well, honey. Good luck with that! I will try, but don't expect much. At this point, the little ***** doesn't deserve it. ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/6670-dhs-family-sucks.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/6911-not-fun.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:08:22 GMT Today has definitely not been fun. My sister and I have been trying to figure out what to do, and how to help, our dad. He's just not doing great.

And Jeran, after being exposed to his allergens, and has been reflecting his exposure by being extra cranky and hyper. Today, after school, he snuck a Zebra Cake. He actually ate 1 1/2 cakes, while I was busy trying to figure out things for my Dad. Less than 2 hours after he ate them, he threw up, right before we left to get Daphne from school.

Tomorrow is school pictures for him. I sure hope he has a better day tomorrow! I'm tempted to give him Benadryl, to try to counteract allergens. But we want to get him tested again soon, as we think he still has undiagnosed allergens.

I swear, we need a proffesional chef to keep us fed, and more poor boy allergen free! ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/6911-not-fun.html http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/6981-corn-stuff.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:43:16 GMT I had written the last entry as a reply to someone on the allergy board, then added it on my blog as an after thought. Here is Jenny's site, if anyone is interested....
http://www.cornallergens.com/list/co...ergen-list.php

I'm not sure how to put a picture of my "Cooking Failure #375: Gluten-free chicken noodle soup" on my blog. If anyone is interested, it's on the allergy board. It's hilarious to see. I wouldn't mind failure so much if there were plenty of other options, and the ingredients didn't cost so stinkin' much. ]]> DawnL http://www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/blogs/dawnl/6981-corn-stuff.html